FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky voters have made Republican Mitt Romney their choice for president, snubbing yet again Democrat Barack Obama who has repeatedly come up short in the state.

With 4 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had 45,991 votes or 67 percent, to 22,002 votes for Obama or 32 percent. The race was called in Kentucky within minutes of the final poll closing.

With the Kentucky victory, Romney picks up the state’s eight electoral votes.

Obama has been an unpopular political figure in Kentucky, having lost the state in the 2008 primary and general elections.

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This year, Obama yielded Kentucky to Romney after a poor showing in the Democratic primary. Some 42 percent of Kentucky Democrats marked their ballots “uncommitted” even though Obama was the only name on the ballot.